Asparagus is a kind of vegetable that is loved by many people due to its delicious taste and high nutritional value, and so do dogs. That’s why some pet owners are willing to share this veggie to their four-leg friends. But is asparagus good for dogs? Should dogs have asparagus in their daily diet? We will help you answer these questions in this article. Let’s get started!
Is Asparagus Good for Dogs?
Asparagus is a kind of vegetable which is preferred by many people around the world. Like other vegetables, asparagus is low in fat and sugar. Furthermore, this bright-green veggie contains many nutrients like copper, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, etc.
Moreover, asparagus is a good source of vitamins, such as vitamins A, E, C, K, B2, B6, etc. Due to lots of vital nutrients found in the asparagus, this vegetable is recommended to eat regularly by nutritionists for a good health.
Of course, these nutrients are good for dogs as well. Eating asparagus can help your dogs stronger, healthier and more flexible. For one thing, all of the nutrients in the asparagus will promote the immune system and other body organs to work better, as well as improve the dog’s digestive health.
The good thing is that if your dogs are in trouble with bowel movements such as constipation or diarrhea, asparagus may help a lot. In addition, due to the huge amount of inulin, dogs’ digestive system can work better. That’s because when inulin comes into the intestines, it will help to increase the number of healthy bacteria, which play an important role in absorbing nutrients and defending cancer.
Believe or not, dogs eating asparagus regularly can have a smooth and beautiful coat, as well as healthy teeth and claws.
Can Dogs Have Asparagus?
There’s no study showing that asparagus contains any intense toxic which can be risky to a dog life. On the contrary, this vegetable contains lots of things that all dogs really need. Therefore, feel free to give your dogs asparagus at any time you want, especially to overweight or obese dogs as this tasty veggie can help them lose weight and burn off extra fat, but still provide enough energy for an active day.
You can find various kinds of asparagus on the market recently. All of them are good for your furry balls, so don’t let this thing bother you.
How to Give Your Dogs Asparagus?
Although asparagus doesn’t harm your pooches at all, you should pay attention to this because of several minute problems.
Cooked Asparagus
Firstly, you shouldn’t give asparagus as a raw snack to your dogs. For one reason, asparagus itself is very tough which may give your dogs a hard time to chew. Remember that even humans don’t eat raw asparagus either. The special case is that even when your dogs can swallow it, hardly can their stomach digest it completely. Undigested food stuck in the stomach can make your dogs get nausea, vomiting or upset stomach.
Therefore, the best solution is to cook asparagus lightly like the way you prepare human foods with this ingredient. You can also try several ways to cook it. No matter which ways of cooking you choose, please avoid adding butter or oil (such as olive oil) to the dishes, grease isn’t a good choice for dogs at all.
Small Asparagus
Moreover, you should chop asparagus into many small pieces so that the pooches can enjoy them completely. You can leave it a little bit big and don’t chop it too small. Your dogs may not chew it and sometimes, too small asparagus chops can be risky. Overall, try some new cooking ways so that the dogs may not get bored of this veggie.
Be Cautious
Asparagus is luscious, but be careful to another part of this plant: the fern. The asparagus fern is very toxic and inedible, even to humans. Usually, dogs may have vomiting, nausea, diarrhea or abdominal pain after swallowing a small piece of asparagus fern. So, don’t feed them fern.
In case you grow asparagus in your garden, please cover it with fences so that they can’t get into it. Dogs are curious and voracious themselves, so prevention is better than cure. Don’t let the dogs contact with the asparagus plants is the best way.
Can Puppies Have Asparagus?
Of course, puppies can have it, too. However, puppies don’t really need it because they have already had enough minerals and vitamins. In case you still want to feed your puppies a bit of asparagus or your little furry balls have fallen in love with it, keep giving asparagus to them but watch out for the treats.
Also, because puppies don’t really need it, you should give them a small amount of asparagus. They can get diarrhea due to the high amount of fiber in this vegetable.
Notes
Whenever you feed your dogs a new food, watch out for whether they have odd behaviors or symptoms of some health problems. Some reports showed that dogs’ stomach might not agree with the asparagus for the first time. In particular, the dogs might have nausea, vomiting or upset stomach signs. If your dogs have these signs, please keep an eye on them so that if any bad thing happens, you can take them to the vets timely.
Conclusion
So, is asparagus good for dogs? Asparagus is completely good for your four-leg friends and they can enjoy it as a crunchy snack at any time. However, please keep your dogs away from the raw asparagus and asparagus fern.
Hopefully, our today’s article has provided you with lots of useful information. If you have any questions, please leave it below. We will answer them as soon as we can. Thank you!
